Conway, SC - Friends, family and classmates will have an opportunity to salute Atlantic Collegiate Academy sophomore Ava Holland today at 5 p.m. at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston when an Honor Walk is conducted as she is transported for organ donation.

A bus will depart Atlantic Collegiate Academy at 1:30 p.m. for the trip to Charleston with seats available on a first-come, first served basis. All students planning to make the trip must have a parent to accompany you. Parents may also drive their students to participate in the ceremony.
 
The Honor Walk, sometimes called the "Hero's Walk" or "Walk of Respect," occurs when a patient who has been declared brain-dead is transported from their hospital room or intensive care unit to the operating room for organ procurement. This moment signifies not just the end of a life but the beginning of renewed hope for others. The walk is a deeply moving acknowledgment of the donor's ultimate act of generosity choosing to give life even in death.                                                 
 
What makes the Honor Walk so powerful is its communal nature. Hospital staff, including nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, chaplains, case managers, and security personnel, line the hallways in silent tribute. In many cases, family members and close friends of the donor accompany or follow behind the hospital bed, sometimes holding hands, photos, or mementos. Staff members often pause from their duties, standing shoulder to shoulder in a solemn show of respect. In some institutions, music may play softly while others observe the moment in silence, with heads bowed. Some families choose to share a few words or play a favorite song of their loved one. Others may wear shirts, pins, or bracelets identifying their loved one as a donor hero. In pediatric cases, the walk can be particularly heart-wrenching, with staff and families alike emotionally united in honoring the young life lost and the legacy she leaves behind.
 
The Honor Walk serves many purposes. For the donor's family, it provides a moment of closure and profound recognition that their loved one's life and death mattered. It reminds them that they are not alone, and that their loved one is seen as a hero. For the health care team, it reinforces the sacred nature of organ donation and the human connection behind the clinical work. And for organ recipients waiting in hospital beds or on transplant lists across the country, the Honor Walk represents the gift of another chance at life.'
 
About Atlantic Collegiate Academy: Atlantic Collegiate Academy (ACA), located in Conway, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while also earning up to two years of college credit. ACA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades. Learn more about ACA by visiting our website at AtlanticCollegiate.Academy and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and X.